Air conditioner

ABSTRACT

An air conditioner is provided. In the air conditioner, a panel frame is mounted on a front of a main body, a front panel is movably installed in the panel frame, and a front cover is detachably mounted on the front panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and moreparticularly, to an air conditioner that is designed to be associatedwith a picture or photograph, thereby providing an improved externalappearance as well as its inherent air-conditioning effect.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an air conditioner is operated as a refrigerant goes througha cooling cycle having a series of processes such as a compressionprocess, a condensing process, an expanding process, and a vaporizingprocess. That is, after the refrigerant is compressed to a hightemperature and pressure state, heat is discharged to an outer side by acondenser. Then, the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant arelowered as it goes through an expansion valve. Then, the refrigerantgoes through the vaporizer to absorb heat and returns to the condenser.

Here, the compression, condensing and expansion processes are performedin an indoor unit of the air conditioner. The vaporizing process isperformed by a blower fan and a heat exchanger.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner is generally classified into a windowtype air conditioner that is designed to be mounted on a window and tointegrate a cooling cycle device therein and a sprit air conditionerhaving indoor and outdoor units that are separated from each other andinstalled on indoor and outdoor sides, respectively.

The sprit air conditioner is further classified according to aninstalling method of the indoor unit into a wall-mounted type, astanding type, a ceiling-mounted type, and a ceiling-buried type.

There is also provided a convertible type indoor unit that can be usedany one of the wall-mounting type, the standing type and ceiling-mountedtype.

Meanwhile, the indoor unit of the air conditioner is classifiedaccording to locations of air intake and outlet into a variety of types.For example, in a type where indoor air is introduced through a sideportion of the indoor unit and exhausted through a front portion of theindoor unit, a louver is installed on the front portion of the indoorunit to uniformly distribute the air in the indoor room by rotating upand down and left and right.

In the typical indoor unit of the air conditioner, the front portion isdesigned to simply function as a cover. That is, a front cover definingthe front portion of the indoor unit functions to prevent a variety ofparts such as an air intake fan, a heat exchanger and the like that areinstalled inside the indoor unit to be exposed outward, therebypreventing a user from getting electric shock by touching the partsinstalled inside the indoor unit. That is, since the front cover isdesigned considering only the simple functions, it cannot affect onimproving the interior atmosphere.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an air conditionerthat substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner thatis designed to be associated with a picture or photograph, therebyproviding an improved external appearance as well as its inherentair-conditioning effect.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,there is provided an air conditioner including: a main body; a panelframe mounted on a front of the main body; a front panel movablyinstalled in the panel frame; and a front cover detachably mounted onthe front panel.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airconditioner including: a main body; a transparent panel frame mounted ona front of the main body; a light-emitting unit installed in the mainbody; a front panel movably installed in the panel frame to open andclose an intake opening defined in the panel frame; and a front coverdetachably mounted on the front panel.

In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided anair conditioner including: a main body in which a heat exchanger and ablower fan are installed; a panel frame mounted on a front of the mainbody; a front panel installed in the panel frame to open and close anintake opening of the panel frame through rotational or translationalmotion; and a front cover detachably mounted on a front of the frontpanel, the front cover including a transparent outer case, a supportingpanel coupled with the outer case, and an interchangeable art paneldisposed between the outer case and the supporting panel.

According to the present invention, since an artwork or a picture can bedisplayed on the front portion of the indoor unit, the interioratmosphere can be improved.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioneraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the indoor unit depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an operation of an indoor unit ofan air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation of an indoor unit ofan air conditioner according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditionerwhen a front cover of the indoor unit is removed according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is an explode perspective view of a front cover that can bemounted on an indoor unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing detachment of a front cover from anindoor unit according to the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a light-emitting unit installed inan indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditioneraccording to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explodedperspective view of the indoor unit depicted in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an indoor unit 100 includes a main body 110forming the exterior of the unit, a panel frame 190 mounted on a frontof the main body 110, a front panel 120 mounted in the panel frame 190,and a front cover 130 detachably coupled to a front of the front panel120 for having a picture or photograph inserted therein. The front panel120 can be slid back and forth or rotated about an edge thereof to allowairflow through the panel frame 190.

When the front panel 120 is slit or rotated in a front direction, anintake opening (refer to 150 in FIGS. 3 and 4) is exposed to atmosphere.Indoor air is sucked through the intake opening 150 and then it isdischarged through a discharge bent 151 formed on a side of the mainbody 110.

The main body 110 further includes a filter 101 for filtering impuritiesfrom the indoor air, a front frame 102 disposed behind the filter 101for installing the filter thereon and protecting inside components, abase 109 coupled to the front frame 102, and a blower fan 107 installedbetween the front frame 102 and the base 109 for drawing indoor air intothe unit.

Additionally, the main body 110 includes a heat exchanger 103 installedin front of the blower fan 107 for lowering the temperature of indoorair drawn into the unit, a drain pan 105 disposed below the heatexchanger 103 for collecting moisture that condenses on and drips fromthe heat exchanger 103, an air guide 104 installed behind the heatexchanger 103 for directing the flow of indoor air drawn into the unit,an electronics housing 106 disposed above the air guide 104 for housingelectronic components, and a guide duct 108 for causing indoor air drawninto the unit by the blower fan 107 to be discharged from the unit.

An explanation of the operation and function of the indoor unit 100 ofan air conditioner according to the present invention will now be setforth.

First, when electrical current is applied to the indoor unit 100, thefront panel 120 disposed at the front of the main body 110 is opened toexpose the intake opening 150. At the same time that the front panel 120moves to expose the intake opening 150, the blower fan 107 inside themain body 110 begins spinning. The spinning blower fan 107 draws indoorair through the intake opening 150 into the unit. The drawn air shedsits impurities as it passes through the filter 101, and proceeds throughthe heat exchanger 103 to exchange heat with refrigerant therein. Whenthe air passes through the heat exchanger 103, its temperature drops,and it is then directed via the air guide 104 towards the blower fan107. The air is then guided by the guide duct 108 disposed above theblower fan 107 so that it is finally discharged through the dischargevent 151 back to the indoor space.

As explained above, the front cover 130 is detachably coupled to thefront panel 120 disposed on the front of the main body 110.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an operation of an indoor unit ofan air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, an indoor unit 100 includes a main body 110, apanel frame 190 mounted on a front of the main body 110, a front panel120 movably installed in the panel frame 190, and a front cover 130attached on a front of the front panel 120.

In operation, the front panel 120 is moved outward to open an intakeopening 150. Indoor air is sucked through the intake opening 150 andcooled in the main body 110. The cooled air is discharged through adischarge vent 151 from the main body 110.

The indoor unit 100 further includes at least one toothed rack 140installed on a back of the front panel 120. Four racks 140 may beinstalled on four corners of the front panel 120 for a horizontaltranslation of the front panel 120. Further, the indoor unit 100includes at least one rotary member such as a pinion 141 engaged withthe rack 140 and at least one driving unit such as a step motor 142coupled with the pinion 141. Rotational motion of the step motor 142 canbe converted into linear motion by the combination of the pinion 141 andthe rack 140, such that the front panel 120 can be exactly translatedback and forth.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation of an indoor unit ofan air conditioner according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 4, an indoor unit 100 includes a front panel 120. Thefront panel 120 can be rotated about an edge thereof to expose an intakeopening 150.

In detail, the indoor unit 100 further includes a rack 170 on an upperback of the front panel 120, a rotary member such as a pinion 171engaged with the rack 170, and a driving unit such as a step motor 172coupled with the pinion 171. Upon rotation of the step motor 172, therack 170 is moved back and forth to rotate the front panel 120 about abottom edge. The rack 170 may be curved to smoothly rotate the frontpanel 120.

Though the indoor unit 100 is designed to rotate the front panel 120about the bottom edge in this embodiment, the indoor unit 100 can bedesigned to rotate the front panel 120 about a top or side edge of thefront panel 120.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an indoor unit of an air conditionerwhen a front cover of the indoor unit is removed according to thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the indoor unit 100, as described above, includesthe main body 110, the panel frame 190 mounted on a front of the mainbody 110, and the front panel 120 movably installed in the panel frame190.

The front panel 120 includes at least one hook end 121 for coupling withthe front cover 130. The hook end 121 may be formed on each upper sideof the front panel 120 to hook an upper portion of the front cover 130thereon. Further, the front panel 120 includes at least one couplingportion at a lower side to fix a lower portion of the front cover 130thereto. The coupling portion may be a hook hole 123 (two are shown) toreceive a hook (refer to 135 in FIG. 6) formed on a back of the frontcover 130. Further, the front panel 120 includes at least one elasticmember 122 to push the front cover 130 when pressed. That is, toseparate a lower portion of the front cover 130 from the front panel120, a use can press the lower portion of the front cover 130 once.After that, the user can lift up the front cover 130 and rotate it aboutthe hook end 121 to remove the front cover 130 from the front panel 120.

FIG. 6 is an explode perspective view of a front cover that can bemounted on an indoor unit according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the front cover 130 includes an art panel 160 onwhich a picture or photograph is printed, a first cover such as atransparent outer case 131 to be coupled to a front of the art panel 160to protection the art panel 160, and a second cover such as a supportingpanel 132 for coupling with the outer case 131 from a back of the artpanel 160.

The supporting panel 132 includes at least one mounting/dismountingmember 137 on a back for coupling with the outer case 131. Themounting/dismounting member 137 is designed such that the outer case 131can be separated from the supporting panel 132 by pushing themounting/dismounting member 137 toward a center of the supporting panel132. On the contrary, the outer case 131 can be coupled to thesupporting panel 132 by pushing the mounting/dismounting member 137 awayfrom the center of the supporting panel 132 after putting the art panel160 and the outer case 131 on the supporting panel 132.

The outer case 131 defines at least one insertion slot 133 to receivethe mounting/dismounting member 137 when the outer case 131 and thesupporting panel 132 are coupled.

The coupling structure for the outer case 131 and the supporting panel132 is not limited to the illustrated and described structure. Variouscoupling structures such as a hook structure can be used.

The supporting panel 132 further includes at least one hook loop 134 ona back for coupling with the hook end 121 formed on a front of the frontpanel 120. The supporting panel 132 further includes coupling portionssuch as at least one magnet 136 and at least one hook 135 on a lowerback. The hook 135 is designed for coupling with the hook hole 123defined in a front of the front panel 120. The magnet 136 is designed tobe attached to the elastic member 122 by magnetic force. That is, thehook 135 and magnet 136 are provided to securely couple the front cover130 to the front panel 120. The coupling loop 134 of the front cover 120and the hook end 121 of the front panel 120 are designed such that thefront cover 130 can be rotated about the hook end 121 when the frontcover 130 is coupled to and removed from the front panel 120.

To detach the front cover 130 from the front panel 120, a user can pressa lower end of the front cover 130 once to extend the elastic member 122outward. By the extended elastic member 122, the lower end of the frontcover is spaced apart from the front panel 120. In this position, theuser can lift up the front cover 130 and rotate it about the hook end121 to remove the front cover 130 from the front panel 120.

The coupling structure of the front cover 130 and the front panel 120 isnot limited to this embodiment. Various structures can be employed forthe coupling between the front cover 130 and the front panel 120.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing detachment of a front cover from anindoor unit according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the front cover 130 can be detached from the frontpanel 120 to replace the picture or photograph with new one.

As explained above, to detach the front cover 130 from the front panel120, a user can press the front cover 130 once from the lower end toextend the elastic member 122 outward. The elastic member 122 as itextends outward pushes the lower end of the font cover 130 outwardly.After the lower end of the front cover 130 is spaced apart from thefront panel 120, the user can lift up the front cover 130 and pull thefront cover 130 out of the front panel 120 while rotating the frontcover 130 about the hook end 121.

After that, the user can push the mounting/dismounting member 137 towardthe center of the supporting panel 132 to detach the outer case 131 fromthe supporting panel 132. Then, the user can replace the art panel 160with new one having a different picture or photograph.

In this example, the front cover 130 is rotated about a top end thereofwhen it is removed from the front panel 120. As another example, thefront cover 130 can be designed to be rotated about a bottom end or alateral end.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a light-emitting unit installed inan indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the indoor unit 100 includes at least onelight-emitting unit 500 installed in the main body 110. Light from thelight-emitting unit 500 passes through the panel frame 190 to illuminatethe periphery of the indoor unit 100.

The light-emitting unit 500 is installed close to an inner edge of theframe panel 190 to emit light to the outside through the frame panel190. By illuminating around the indoor unit 100 with the light-emittingunit 500, the indoor unit can provides a better beautifulness. The lightcolor of the light-emitting unit 500 can be selected depending on thecircumstance to increase decorative function of the indoor unit 100.Further, the light-emitting unit 500 is detachably installed in the mainbody 110, such that various colors and intensities of light can beprovided by replacing the light-emitting unit 500. Furthermore, thetransparency and color of frame panel 190 can be selected to providemore variety in illumination. The light-emitting unit 500 may becontrolled to emit light all the time or only when the indoor unit 100is operated.

In addition, some of the light from the light emitting unit 500 can bedirected to the outside through the front cover 130 to illuminate thepicture or photograph of the art panel 160.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. An air conditioner comprising: a main body; a heat exchangerinstalled in the main body for heat exchange with indoor air; a blowerfan for drawing the indoor air into the main body and blowing the drawnair back to the indoors; a panel frame mounted on a front of the mainbody, the panel frame defining closed shaped edges of the front surfaceof the main body; a front panel movably installed in the panel frame,the indoor air being introduced to a gap which is formed by the movementof the front panel; and a front cover detachably mounted on the frontpanel, wherein the front cover includes: a transparent outer case; asupporting panel detachably coupled with the outer case; and aninterchangeable art panel disposed between the outer case and thesupporting panel.
 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, whereinthe supporting panel includes at least one mounting/dismounting memberon a back, and the outer case includes at least one insertion slot in anedge to receive the mounting/dismounting member.
 3. The air conditioneraccording to claim 1, wherein the front panel is capable oftranslational motion in forward and backward directions.
 4. The airconditioner according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one rackformed on a back of the front panel with a straight shape for themovement of the front panel; at least one pinion engaged with the rack;and at least one motor coupled with the pinion to rotate the pinion. 5.The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising: at leastone hook end formed on a front of the front panel for detachablymounting the front cover on the front panel; and at least one hook loopformed on a back of the front cover for detachable coupling with thehook end.
 6. The air conditioner according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a hook formed on a back of the front cover; and a hook holedefined in front panel to receive the hook.
 7. The air conditioneraccording to claim 1, wherein the panel frame is made of transparentmaterial.
 8. The air conditioner according to claim 1, furthercomprising a light -emitting unit installed in the main body to emitlight with a specific color.
 9. The air conditioner according to claim8, wherein the light-emitting unit is installed close to the panelframe.
 10. The air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein thelight-emitting unit emits light toward the panel frame and/or a frontportion of the front cover.
 11. The air conditioner according to claim8, wherein the light-emitting unit is interchangeable with another oneemitting different color light.
 12. The air conditioner according toclaim 1, wherein the front panel is rotatable about an edge thereof by apredetermined angle.
 13. The air conditioner according to claim 1,further comprising: at least one rack formed on a back of the frontpanel with a curved shape for the movement of the front panel; at leastone pinion engaged with the rack; and at least one motor coupled withthe pinion to rotate the pinion.
 14. The air conditioner according toclaim 1, further comprising: an elastic member formed on a predeterminedportion of the front panel to push the front cover outwardly; and amagnet formed on a back of the front cover for coupling with the elasticmember by magnetic force.
 15. The air conditioner according to claim 14,wherein the elastic member is retracted into the front panel whenpressed once and extended outward from the front panel when pressedagain.